If you have ever had morels, you already know how delicious they are. Morels, a wild mushroom, are all hand picked and after a season of forest fires they can become very plentiful. However they remain difficult to find, hence they are very pricey. I always consider them to be a treat and wish they were more plentiful because I could easily just eat a huge plate of them all by themselves. Realistically, I have to come up with ways to stretch their goodness for everyone to enjoy. Yesterday, in my SPUD order came the morels I ordered and while putting them away, I came across a cauliflower I had received a couple of weeks ago and had forgotten. Fortunately, cauliflowers have a longer shelf life than some vegetables and mine was still good though it was just starting to get some brown spots so I knew I had to use it very soon.
Cauliflower has become a popular vegetable recently because it is so versatile so I decided to put mine to use as a base for a cream sauce…best decision ever! This turned out so well, I needed to share it. Please understand that part of my purpose for sharing these treats is so I can replicate them again. I have made so many things over the years that I just threw together but didn’t record anywhere and now cannot remember what I used or how I made them… some great meals forever lost!
Creamy Vegan Pasta Sauce
Ingredients
1 medium head of cauliflower, cleaned and broken into florets
½ cup cashews
¼ cup nutritional yeast
1 T lemon juice
1 tsp of salt (or more to taste)
1 tsp of freshly ground pepper
1 cup unsweetened cashew milk
1 lb fresh morels
5 cloves of garlic chopped
3 T avocado oil
Fresh basil leaves
1 pkg brown rice spiral pasta (or pasta of your choice)
Directions
- Soak morels in salt water for 20 minutes to draw out any critters.
- Steam florets and cashews for 20 minutes
- Rinse morels well a few times and chop of any woody stems
- Place steamed cauliflower, cashews, cashew milk, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, salt, pepper and cashew milk in a blender and blend until creamy and smooth. Set aside.
- Cook pasta
- Add chopped garlic to avocado oil and sauté over low heat for 5 minutes
- Add morels to garlic and oil and sauté over medium heat for 20 minutes until garlic has clarified and morels are soft. They will shrink significantly.
- Add the mushrooms and garlic mixture to the cauliflower sauce and stir well, until hot and bubbly.
- Drain cooked pasta and pour sauce over it
- Garnish with fresh basil leaves
Serve with a side salad for a delicious meal.
ADD THE INGREDIENTS TO YOUR CART |
Susan Hollingshead
Susan is our resident vegan. She’s been a vegetarian for 20 years, and a vegan for 4. She has researched both lifestyles extensively and is constantly exploring new recipes, add her own twist. She is a long time SPUD customer, and now our very own resident vegan blogger!